The event is entitled, “Sowing Struggle: Urban and rural social movements in Tlaxcala, Mexico,” and will feature Luz Rivera Martinez of the Consejo National Urbano Campesino (CNUC).

Luz Rivera Martinez will speak about her 20 years of experience constructing autonomy, organizing outside the electoral system, and resisting free trade. Luz is an inspiring speaker and her talk will have important lessons for anyone interested in women’s, peasant, and labor movements.

During the Mexican Revolution support for Emiliano Zapata was strong in Tlaxcala, and under the slogan of “the land belongs to those who work it” many peasants occupied the plantations their families had labored on as serfs for generations.

Today, the Revolution lives on through the work of the Consejo Nacional Urbano Campesino (CNUC). Luz established CNUC in the early 1990s to coordinate resistance to the impending North American Free Trade Agreement, especially regarding its dismemberment of Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution, which enshrined peasants’ right to communally own the ejido farm lands redistributed during the Revolution.

As CNUC’s lead organizer, Luz has worked tirelessly to demand government accountability, defend family farms, resist the use of GMO seeds, and build inspiring, community-based autonomous projects. CNUC has a long history of disposing of corrupt leaders, democratizing the budget, coordinating community-driven infrastructure projects, including peoples’ history in education, and expanding access to healthcare.

Luz and CNUC also work closely with the Apizaco merchants union, a bus-drivers’ cooperative, and the National Assembly of Braceros. CNUC is also a member of the Zapatistas’ Other Campaign, an international network of organizations struggling against neoliberalism and for autonomy from the grassroots.

This event is free and open to the public, although donations will be accepted. Luz will also be bringing items from Mexico to sell.